The Blogs: 'No food for days'

Websites have been abuzz with stories of close escapes and messages from people trying to find missing loved ones

www.npr.org

"We drove from Baton Rouge to Gulfport on Monday to rescue my grandmother. She had refused to leave her home; but once the storm hit, she panicked. When downed power lines prevented us from getting further, my husband and another traveller lifted the lines with planks of wood so we could drive under them. We also had to drive round a tanker that was laying across both lanes of the interstate [highway]. My grandmother's neighbourhood in Gulfport was devastated."

Bryan Shaw, Easton, Md

www.npr.org

"My sister and brother-in-law left their home in New Orleans at 1am Sunday and drove to safety in Alabama. They were in the last month of pregnancy, with an estimated due date of 11 September. On Monday her water broke and they decided to drive to the hospital in Huntsville, since they have friends in the city. They got to the hospital with a police escort, just in time to give birth to a healthy baby boy."

Diane Hackensack, New Jersey

CNN weblog

"My sister is a nurse at Charity hospital (New Orleans). I just spoke to her, they have no power (some generators). They are manually ventilating patients. Many windows were blown out. She, the staff and the patients are located on the first floor. They were told that if the levees don't hold they could get 20 feet of water."

John Graydon, Essex, UK

CNN weblog

"I have a son, Mark, inside the Superdome over in New Orleans. He is 26, from the UK, and there with his girlfriend, Greta. There was no way they could avoid going into the Superdome as they could not leave New Orleans because they had no personal transport by the time the mandatory evacuation was called. Conditions inside are not good, toilets are grim, as you can imagine, and food and water appear very low. We have had no further contact since around 7:30am local time, as their cell phone batteries are getting low."

The Miller family

www.nola.com

"My parents live on Karl Street. They stayed for the storm. They stayed tied together with life jackets on the roof for three hours during the middle to end of the storm. The house behind them caught on fire. They said a gush of water broke the door down. They rushed up to the second story and saw huge waves pushing sheds and garages towards their house. They were rescued by my brother in his boat."

Tke782

www.nola.com

"Donald Ludwig (Jnr & Snr), possibly one more stuck on roof of Chalmette High. Not going good. They need to be picked up. Please help or contact someone who can! They have been without food or water for one or two days."

STB2045

www.nola.com

"My family is from Carnarvon (close to Braithwaite). They were able to get out of the house on a boat. They rescued many people from the Plantation area that were on their roofs. He said there are still people on rooftops around that area. He also picked up people on the road near Nicosias as they were running from flooding water. Also said there have been helicopters flying over all day and are aware that people are there but haven't picked up anyone yet."

Sherry, Husband in Chalmette, LA

www.nola.com

"Today at 3:45pm Louisiana time, my husband called from a hospital in South Louisiana to let me know that he was OK. However, the apartment that he was using as shelter is no longer there. He also let me know that he and his friends were rescued by local boatmen and taken to the nearest hospital for shelter. His words to me were, "Sherry, everything is gone. Everything is gone." I could hear the fear and disbelief in his voice and all I could think was thank the Good Lord he made it!"

Jennifer, Iraq

CNN weblog

"I am in the Air Force serving in Iraq. I have been watching the news from here throughout the whole hurricane season. My family (husband and three children) are from Alabama and I worry for their safety. I have been praying for everyone that has been affected by the hurricanes. I pray that people are watching out for our families while we are away."